Commentary, sarcasm and snide remarks from a Florida resident of over thirty years. Being a glutton for punishment is a requirement for residency here.
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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

The Knucklehead of the Day award Part Four

Our fourth winner is the PGA Tour. They get the award for the following.

Last Wednesday, Phil Mickelson missed his pro-am at the Byron Nelson Championship. Mickelson had been in Little Rock, Ark., for a charity event, and severe thunderstorms grounded his private plane Tuesday night.

Under PGA Tour policy adopted three years ago, anyone who doesn't take part in the pro-am doesn't get to play in the tournament. But the policy was tweaked last year to allow for "serious personal emergencies," and tour officials deemed that an act of God — the weather in this case — kept the world's No. 3 player from getting to the course.

He was allowed to play and tied for third, his best finish in two months.

*****

One reason for the red flag was name — Mickelson, the star attraction at a tournament otherwise deplete of stars.

The other reason was because of a pro-am policy that was designed to crack down on absenteeism, but instead has been filled with cracks the tour has been trying to patch up for the last two years.

In 2005, Chad Campbell wanted to play the 84 Lumber Classic — the tournament even had his wife sing at one of its functions — but he asked out of the pro-am Wednesday to attend his grandmother's funeral. The tour made him choose between the pro-am and the funeral, and Campbell withdrew from the tournament.

Mickelson shouldn't have been allowed to play and if Campbell wasn't given a pass. What was done by the PGA Tour is simply idiotic.